The prestigious legal rating service AVVO has consistently given Law Offices of Mark Deniz a "Superb" rating.

Mark Deniz has proudly served as a member of the California state bar since 2003.

Mark Deniz has consistently been named one of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers.

Inside the Huddle: Kudos to team member George Konugres

By Mark Deniz of The Law Offices of Mark Deniz APLC on Friday, November 21, 2014.

I want to throw some luck and kudos to San Diego DUI Defender George Konugres.

George was referred to me by his law school career services director Asha Wilbun. She told me George was a solid student that wanted courtroom experience.

George jumped in with both feet and took off. George picked up the concepts of San Diego DUI defense quickly. These concepts usually take years to learn. He was able to pick up how to dissect a San Diego DUI case and begin to look at the issues.

George then began working in the courtroom. Under the supervision of firm owner Mark Deniz, George began appearing on the record for the clients as well as arguing on their behalf. This culminated in George being 2nd chair in a trial in El Cajon.

Firm owner Mark Deniz states, "George has the ability to be cool under pressure. He was able to change an argument in the hearing and come out successul. Too many young attorneys have a tough time eviating from a script (even older ones sometimes). George was fluid and unflappable. It is a quality that will serve him well during his legal career".

George sat for the July bar. He will find out his results tonight. I want to take my hat off for someone who I saw finish law school, work late nights at an internship preparing for trial, and then hitting the books to prepare for the bar. I called him the other day and he was working a side job while waiting the results. He is a hard worker who is very pleasant to be around. Qualities that no matter the test result will do well for him for life.

Here are some words about the bar exam....

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It's 12:01 a.m. Your phone dings as an email arrives from the Board of Law Examiners. The bar exam results are here. You nervously open the email and quickly scan through until you see, "We regret to inform you ..." Why bother reading any further, you know what it says. A rush of emotion pours over you. Anguish. Embarrassment. Anger. Then questions start popping up. What am I going to tell my parents? Why didn't I study harder? What is wrong with me? What do I do now?

Over the coming days, people will tell you how Hillary Clinton failed the bar or that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo failed several times, but that won't make you feel better. You'll get words of encouragement from friends and family, but that will only make things worse. What you need is a plan...

I have made a name for myself by helping people who were previously unsuccessful pass the bar exam the next time around. From the elderly man who had failed dozens of times and just wanted to close that chapter of his life to JFK Jr., I have worked with them all. And each had the same problem. They all believed that if they just studied a little harder they would be fine on the next go around.

But what I have learned in my 40 years preparing students for the bar exam is that people rarely fail the bar exam because they didn't know enough law. People fail because they didn't know what to do with the law they knew. The bar exam is a test of analytical skills, not an exam of who can regurgitate the most law. To score well on an essay or MBE question, you need to understand what the question is asking, identify the issue, and provide the response that the grader is looking for in the answer. Often, the correct answer isn't the "right" answer. Understanding that difference is key to passing the bar exam.

So how do you learn these test taking skills? If you took a bar review course the first time, it's possible you qualify for a free "do over" course. However, as Albert Einstein famously said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." This time you need to forgo traditional bar review courses and step outside the box. As I have said before, bar review cannot improve your chances of passing the bar exam.

So, here is my advice:

1) Don't be afraid to ask for help. Tutoring is usually seen as remedial for those who aren't smart enough to understand basic concepts. But the reality is that many of the students at the top of the class work with tutors. A tutor is so much more than just someone who goes over your homework. A tutor can help you manage your time, diagnose your problems, and help you break down difficult concepts in your problematic subjects.

2) When it comes to doing questions, quality not quantity is key. The bar examiners wrote each question with a specific answer in mind. To find that answer, you need a method. Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice does. Each state board of law examiners and the National Conference of Bar Examiners release official questions with model or representative answers. Look at what has worked before and why it worked. These aren't law school essays and while IRAC should be used to outline your answers, it's not a method for answering questions accurately each time.

3) Don't sweat the small stuff. You don't need an A+ to pass the bar exam. Getting a "C" will do just fine. Focus on your strengths and make sure you maximize your score on your strong subjects. The rule against perpetuities is rarely tested. It's been ruled that it's not malpractice to not understand it. So don't go nuts trying to learn it. You know that 2/3s of the Torts MBE questions will be on negligence. Focus on the major topics.

Most of all, if you did fail, don't panic! While this is likely the first time in your life that you failed at something, it's just a small speed bump on the way to something bigger. So, take a deep breath (and a shot of whiskey) and come up with a plan.

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